Trent Road delays, detours may end soon

Monday

Jun 26, 2017 at 3:09 PMJun 26, 2017 at 3:09 PM

Eddie Fitzgerald EFitzgeraldNBSJ

An initial estimate of how long Trent Road would be closed to replace a stormwater pipe near the intersection of Red Robin Lane was wishful thinking. But the contractor and Department of Transportation are hoping it will not be much longer.

When the project started in May, DOT estimated it would take about a month to complete. A sign was placed on Trent Road saying a portion of the road would be closed for that period of time. However, the contractor told DOT he could do the project in three weeks.

Scott Cunningham, project manager with Sunland Builders of Cape Carteret, wasn't sure on Monday who said the work could be done in three weeks.

“It definitely couldn’t be done in three weeks,” Cunningham said. “There was a whole lot more to it than what originally needed to be done. There were several things we ran into that we didn’t foresee. All of it takes time.”

The contractor has already replaced three concrete pipes under the roadway with a large, corrugated aluminum pipe called an arch culvert at the intersection. The pipe was also realigned to better handle the flow of rainwater coming from Red Robin Lane. The banks of the ditch the culvert serves have been reshaped and covered in rock.

Cunningham said the easiest part of the project was changing the stormwater pipe, surprisingly because they thought that would be the hardest task.

“It probably went in better than we figured,” he said.

Rain also delayed the project, Cunningham said.

“Obviously there were weather delays, a decent amount of rain,” he said. “It’s typical in this business. You just work around it and keep going.”

Brad McMannen, resident engineer for DOT, said Sunland Builders has an Aug. 3 completion date on their contract. But it was thought the work could be completed in a month.

“We weren’t thinking they would have to use all of that time,” he said. “Now we are.”

Grading the road in a curve has been the major holdup, McMannen said.

“But we are getting there,” he said. “They are close. They have the first layer of surface on there.”

Work is now being done to build up the road with stone and asphalt and to get it ready for repaving. The ditches were moved back on the west side of Trent Road to allow a turn lane at Red Robin Lane.

Cunningham said his crews should finish soon.

“I’d like to think we’ll be done in another week, but you never know,” he said. “We should be through by the end of next week.”

McMannen said he knew the public would be happy to see Trent Road open again. DOT gets plenty of calls from people asking how much longer they will have to detour.

“Depending on what the weather does, next week will be the earliest,” he said.

Until then, motorists will continue to face detours. The DOT detour routes are McCarthy Boulevard and Simmons Road that intersect Trent Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Lowes Boulevard and Hotel Drive, both connecting Trent Road with Dr. MLK Jr. Boulevard, may also be used for detours.

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